■ Public health and tobacco control activists called for a comprehensive ban on all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion in the nation’s advertisement law, which is being revised.

■ China will continue to seek balanced trade with central and eastern European countries by expanding imports and promoting investment in the region, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said.

■ Alcohol imports fell about 8 per cent year-on-year to $US847 million in the first four months as an official crackdown on lavish entertainment and a weaker economy cut corporate and government spending on beverages.

China Securities Journal

■ The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved 10 initial public offering applications on Monday, marking the official restart of IPOs since mid-February.

■ China’s central bank announced on Monday that it would cut the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points for banks engaged in proportionate lending to agricultural and small firms.

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Company Profile

■ China will set a “ceiling" for coal consumption in regions that fail to fulfill the annual pollution-reduction quota in a bid to reduce smog and improve air quality in seriously polluted provinces, Xie Zhenhua, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a forum on Monday.

Securities Times

■ China’s local governments will be under high debt repayment pressure in 2014 as 21.9 per cent of China’s local government debt is due this year, Wang Baoan, the vice minister of the Ministry of Finance, said at a conference.

Shanghai Daily

■ China’s slowing economy dented the confidence of Chinese households in May and people’s willingness to buy property softened for the first time in four years, according to the China Wealth Index, compiled by the Bank of Communications and Nielsen.

■ Chinese government plans to reform the national college entrance exam system by setting up a technical training exam, apart from the academic exam, as the country is facing pressure over labour force mismatch, said Education Vice Minister Lu Xin.

China reporter Lucy Gao reviews the major business news-making headlines every day in both the Chinese and English-language press.